1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to wheeled structures, and more particularly, to improved narrow profile trucks for use on skateboards, roller skates, and the like.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, the popularity of wheeled structures, such as in-line skates, skateboards and the like have increased dramatically. This has been due, in large part, to technological innovations, which have improved the ride and handling of skates, skateboards, and the like, and because of the large number of individuals utilizing different criteria for smoother, safer and faster rides.
With this expansion in popularity of such devices, skateboards, for example, have changed dramatically, such as in their size and shape.
In their most common current forms, in-line skates usually have one truck with a number of polyurethane wheels, while skateboards usually have front and back trucks with two polyurethane wheels in each. The skateboard trucks are mounted on the bottom side of a flexible or rigid board with one set of the wheels attached to the front end of the board, and the other set of wheels being attached to the rear end of the board by their respective trucks. In both in-line skates and skateboard, wheels or each set of wheels is typically mounted on an axle in the truck assembly, and the truck assembly mounts to a connection with the skate or skateboard. This connection allows a user to displace the axle from its usual orientation to the axis of the skate or skateboard. The axles of the front and rear sets of wheels in skateboards are displaced by the user tilting the board so that the axles each come to lie on a radius of a circle, thereby orienting the wheels so that they steer the skateboard in a desired direction. The arrangement of trucks and wheels in skates and skateboards provides favorable cornering characteristics along with some stability, enabling skilled skaters and skateboarders to negotiate smooth, sharp turns in rapid succession. However, as the shape and sizes of skates and skateboards change, and the uses thereof widen, for example, luge, or high-speed downhill skateboarding, a need exists for different types of trucks and different configurations of wheels thereon for attachment to any type of board, platform, skate, or the like.
A variety of skateboard designs having in-line wheel configurations have been adopted. Examples of such skateboards are set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,570 to Bollotte, U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,352 to St. Clair, U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,625 to Kuykendall, U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,401 to Yi and U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,068 to Bradfield. The in-line arrangement of each of these patents differ, with the U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,570 patent having a single alignment of six singular wheels. This skateboard also has a handle, such as used on a scooter.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,352 patent shows a roller board having front and back sets of six wheels each, in pairs of two, with the wheels being sequentially aligned and parallel to a longitudinal axis of the board.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,625 patent discloses a modified truck assembly for attachment to a board surface, in which the truck has two pair of extended ridges to act as skidding pads, and a channel in the bottom which holds an aligned set of in-line wheels.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,401 patent discloses a single line of in-line wheels and a rear roller of relatively larger diameter than the aligned in-line wheels.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,068 patent has a plurality of in-line wheels rotatably mounted on the front end of the board, and rear wheels disposed at either side of the rear end of the board, with the board having a resiliently flexible portion between the in-line front wheels and the rear wheels.
Each of these in-line skateboards provide improved results for a specific need or performance, but are not adaptable to all situations, and are not useful in high-speed situations. Therefore, there exists a need in the art for an improved in-line skateboard having narrow profile wheel trucks that extend the life of the wheels used and increases the performance of a skateboard, especially at high speeds.
Many types of in-line roller skates are known, for example, see U.S. Pat. No. 954,993 to J. W. Peters (deceased), U.S. Pat. No. 2,540,847 to Thorson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,718 to Gertler, U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,596 to Lee and, U.S. Pat. No. 5,620,190 to Maggiore. These patents all show or disclose various in-line skate systems having a plurality of rollers therein, including outrigger rollers for stabilization of a skater""s feet. However, these patents fail to show or disclose how such in-line skate elements may be applied or used on a skateboard, and are not easily adaptable for a skateboard, without significant changes and/or redesigning thereof. Furthermore, the trucks of such known skates do not fulfill the requirements of the narrow profile trucks of the present invention.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide improved and simplified narrow profile trucks. These trucks may be used on skates, skateboards or any other platform-type of device that a person can lay, sit, stand, or be pulled on. There are many reasons why there is a need for such narrow profile trucks, for example, when used on skates or skateboards, such trucks include the following:
a) the extended support of the truck formation of the present invention greatly reduces slip-and-fall accidents;
b) the trucks of the present invention provide high-performance in racing;
c) the trucks of the present invention provide improved stability and reduces speed wobble;
d) the trucks of the present invention glide over cracks, rough surfaces, as well as rocks and other road hazards with which traditional trucks have trouble;
e) the trucks of the present invention provide an extremely smooth ride because the wheels thereof share in the shock of the road;
f) the novel chassis design of the improved trucks of the present invention allow the wheels and axles thereof to be alternately placed inside or outside of side plates;
g) the unique design of the trucks of the present invention allow an in-line chassis to be used, which chassis freely floats on the bottom of a pair of skates or a skateboard by a suspension system secured to the bottom surface of the skates or skateboard for extreme and vastly improved maneuverability;
h) the improved chassis of the trucks of the present invention allows the trucks to be cast in one solid piece, or in multiple pieces;
i) the improved truck and chassis combination of the present invention is adaptable to most of the currently manufactured skates and skateboards and accessories therefor;
j) the unique, unencumbered exterior chassis walls of the improved trucks of the present invention provide a surface to which commercial logos or designs may be applied;
k) the improved trucks of the present invention allow the use of different size wheels, as well as different size in-line wheels;
l) the improved overall performance and appearance of the trucks of the present invention provide a stream-lined design for all size skates or skateboards, as well as increasing the performance, safety and compatibility thereof with existing skates, skateboards and in-line products.
It is a particular object of the present invention to provide a narrow profile truck, which accommodates narrow profile wheels, such as in-line roller skate wheels or traditional skateboard wheels.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention are achieved by providing a platform with improved trucks on at least one portion thereof. The trucks include a two-wheel portion having an in-line skate chassis attached or secured thereto and inserted in one or more wheel openings formed in the chassis. The in-line chassis of the truck of the present invention is secured to the bottom of the platform by means of a unique suspension system having a turning horn operatively connected therein.